Liverpool Hope University has partnered with the Royal Court Liverpool and the Liverpool Echo to launch a major new competition to find the UK’s next new playwright. This exciting new national competition is a chance for a playwright to win a cash prize of £10,000 and have their work considered for staging by one of the most prolific producing theatres in the North West. Established and new writers are eligible to enter the competition and one of the winning plays will be considered for production by Royal Court Liverpool.In addition to the main cash prize of £10,000, there are two Highly Commended prizes of £1,500 to be awarded at the judges’ discretion in the Over 21 category.There will also be a 21 and Under category with a £2,500 prize for the best submission by a young writer and two Highly Commended prizes of £500 each, again awarded at the judge’s discretion. (Writers under 21 will still be eligible for the main prize).

In addition to possible production by Royal Court Liverpool, one of the winning texts will have a rehearsed reading as part of the Cornerstone Arts Festival 2014 at Hope’s Creative Campus.The competition is open to any UK resident over the age of 18 and there is a £20 entry fee (£15 for under-21) to cover reading and administrative costs.

How to submit: scripts (in PDF or Microsoft Word format) should be uploaded to the Liverpool Hope University On-line Store at store.hope.ac.uk. Scripts will be printed and bound by the University Secretary’s Office, assigned a code number and forwarded to the reading team. The code number will be the only identification available to the readers and judging panel. The code number will indicate that the author is under 21, should that be the case.

N.B. It is vital that play scripts do not contain any means of personal identification; there should be nothing in the header or footer sections apart from page numbers and the first page should contain the title and nothing else. For the avoidance of doubt, the title page must not include the name of the playwright. If the script is deemed to reveal the identity of the playwright, that play submission will be withdrawn from the competition.

A cover sheet must be included as page 1 of the file and contain the following:

name of person submitting

names of co-authors, if applicable

contact telephone number

full postal address

email address

proof of age if under 21 (scanned passport or driving licence)

The cover sheet will be removed by the University Secretary’s Office before the script is forwarded to the reading team.

Chalk the Sun is running on-going monthly workshops with flexible attendance (£30 for a one-off, £125 for 5, £225 for 10) for scriptwriters focusing on techniques and development of radio, stage, TV and screen plays including series and episode writing with feedback from the Chalk tutor team of professional writers, producers, editors and directors.

The next workshop will take place on 8th February and will focus on dialogue and use of metaphor to create structure and dialogue with director/playwright Danusia Iwaszko and writer Ardella Jones .

The Nursery has developed ‘5ideaS’, a new monthly night for writers. directors and dramaturgs to explore ideas. From the submissions received, a number of people will be invited to talk about their idea, and performance space will be offered on the basis of these talks. In addition to the performance, the Nursery will be offering up to three days rehearsal space for the chosen ideas.

The performance will take place on 27th of February and artists will be expected to show 10-20 minutes of work, after the performance there will be an informal feedback session.

After the night, there may be further opportunities to develop the work with the Nursery. This may include further rehearsal and performance space and a spot at The Nursery Festival.

Winchester’s Chesil Theatre is once again inviting playwrights to submit 10 minute scripts for its 10×10 Playwriting Competition. Writers aged 16 and over can send in a short play based on the theme of ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY, chosen to coincide with the theatre’s 150th anniversary season, which makes this year’s event extra special. The anniversary year will culminate in the 10 chosen plays being performed by Chesil.

*Not strictly a writing opportunity, but if you write or devise as part of a creative team or company, this could be one for you!*

New Charter Project Commission 2014

In January 2012 the Royal Exchange Theatre embarked on an innovative three year partnership with the New Charter Housing Trust Group and its Academy in Ashton-under-Lyne. The partnership aims to break down the barriers between concepts of ‘school’ and ‘community’ and to explore ways of making work collectively.

They are now in year three of the partnership, and would like to work across the Community and the Academy activity strands to create a dynamic, high quality, artistically adventurous event which promotes community cohesion and celebrates cultural diversity.

They are looking to appoint a creative team who will develop, design and deliver the event, supported by Royal Exchange project managers and co-ordinators. This commission is for £3,000 (which is in addition to a £10,000 production budget).

LineUp is a bi-monthly new writing event produced by Vertical Line Theatre at Greenwich Theatre. LineUp celebrates new writing by providing directors, actors, rehearsal space and a 400 seat theatre giving writers a chance to try out their work through collaboration with Vertical Line Theatre. Submissions are now open for the next LineUp on 3rd March 2014.

They are looking for playwrights to submit ten page extracts of full length plays to be tried and tested on the Greenwich stage. The extracts will be showcased to an audience as part of a diverse new writing night. This is a chance to showcase your work on a London stage with access to a pool of emerging creative talent with the possibility of working with Vertical Line Theatre to further develop your work in the future.

The Nickelodeon Writing Programme is now open for submissions. This global initiative will offer the successful applicant a salaried position with Nickelodeon in London for up to six months, providing experience in writing scripts and pitching story ideas for both live action and animation. The chosen writer will have the opportunity to nurture relationshipswith creators, network executives, line producers, head writers, show-runners and story editors from all around the world, whilst also undertaking special training activities to develop their craft.

They will also get to spend six weeks in the US at Nickelodeon’s studios in Los Angeles, attending storyboard pitches, series meetings and tapings, and working alongside some of the Network’s top creatives.

How to apply: For full details on how to apply, please visit the website, selecting the ‘Writing Program’ and ‘All Other Countries’ options.

Additional information: please note that UK and international applicants are required to submit a spec. script for a US show which must come from the list found here on the website.

Deadline: midnight on February 28th, 2014 (the winner will be announced in October)

Shooting Fish are looking for a writer/dramatist with experience of working with communities (particularly young people) to lead and support them in writing a new play.

About the project: the project seeks to use theatre to support the and improve the literacy skills of the target group, to create a sense of pride and imbed an new enthusiasm for literacy. The project will be undertaken with the support of a qualified literacy tutor and will engage up to 15 young people aged 16 to 18. The finished play will be produced by Shooting Fish Theatre Company.

The chosen candidate must have experience of writing for stage, have had experience of engaging either a community or a group of young people in the writing process, hold a degree in drama or writing (or the equivalent in professional experience) and must have, or be willing to undergo a baring and disclosure check.
The project will take place over 12 2hr sessions on a Wednesday afternoon, 1pm to 3pm in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire (term time only), starting on Wed 29th January.The fee will be £100 for each 2hr session with an additional £200 planning fee. A total of £1400.

How to apply: to apply please provide a CV, a 2 page sample of your writing, an example workshop or a list of activities that engages the target group in writing. Please note that the group have low level literacy which will need to be taken into consideration.
Applications should be sent to info@shootingfish.co.uk.

Deadline: Sunday 19th January, 5pm.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview on Wed 22nd or Thurs 23rd, please advise your availability within your application.
*Please note due to high levels of applicants, they will not be able to personally respond to each candidate and if you have not had a response by Monday 20th January, please assume you have not been shortlisted.